Lot Essay
This masterfully painted tile is very similar to a tile in the Louvre (no. 3919/2287; Turks, Exhibition Catalogue, London, 2005, p. 348, ill. 328). It perfectly illustrates the new decorative style developed in the 1570s by the naqqashhane, the imperial atelier in charge of elaborating new decorative designs. The feathery saz leaves stressed with black lines, spiralling and piercing one another, are remarkably drawn. A very similar tile was offered in these Rooms, 7 October 2008, Lot 412.
It has been suggested that these very large tiles were intended as the tops of scribe's writing chests, which are often of similar size. The presence of an Ottoman wooden table in the Victorian and Albert Museum which is set with a large Iznik tile (circa 1560) supports this theory (Tim Stanley, Palace and Mosque, London, 2004, no. 121, p. 106).
It has been suggested that these very large tiles were intended as the tops of scribe's writing chests, which are often of similar size. The presence of an Ottoman wooden table in the Victorian and Albert Museum which is set with a large Iznik tile (circa 1560) supports this theory (Tim Stanley, Palace and Mosque, London, 2004, no. 121, p. 106).